Leisure time management mediates the relationship between job search anxiety and career planning

This study aimed to examine the mediating role of leisure time management in the relationship between job search anxiety and career planning among students of the faculty of sports sciences. A total of 390 sports science faculty students participated in the study, 156 of whom were female and 234 were male. The questionnaire used to collect the relevant data consisted of four sections. The first section of the study included demographic information, the second section included the 'Leisure Time Management Scale,' the third section included the 'Sports Science Students' Job Search Anxiety Scale,' and the fourth section included the 'Career Planning Scale for Students Studying Sports Science.' SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 21.0 software packages were used to analyze the data. The findings show a moderate, significant, and positive relationship between participants' career planning and leisure time management; a weak, significant, positive relationship between career planning and job search anxiety; and a weak, significant, positive relationship between job search anxiety and leisure time management. The results revealed that job search anxiety has a significant effect on career planning and that leisure time management plays a mediating role in the impact of job search anxiety on career planning.